"Absolutely awesome" was the first thing Wendy Currie said about the Summer National Senior Games in Houston, Texas. She participated as a golfer in the female 55-59 category and won gold. Currie absolutely glowed with inspiration and excitement when talking about the experience.
The games take place every two years and include a wide range of sporting events. This was the first year that Canadians were invited to participate. Currie says the Games were huge, with over 10,000 athletes in attendance. There were 358 golfers in total. The golfers were split up into age categories and told which golf course they would be on (BlackHorse North, BlackHorse South or Cypress). Currie golfed against 13 other excellent golfers on the BlackHorse South course.
The Senior Games are not open to everyone. Certain requirements have to be met in order for participants to be invited. Currie's road to the 2011 games started one year ago. She was playing with her husband last June in the Southeast zone playoffs in the 55+ category, and they both won gold. The next tournament they both entered was the provincial playdowns in Regina last July. Both husband and wife claimed gold there as well. In August, Currie travelled with her husband to Brockville, Ont. to golf in the Canada 55+ Games. Currie placed fourth there, being only one stroke out of third, and that was where she heard about the senior's tournament down south.
Last fall Currie received a letter stating she met the criteria (that are mainly based on tournament scores), making her eligible to participate in the Summer National Senior Games in Houston. This was not the first time she had the offer to go. Two years earlier she and her husband both qualified but decided against going. After reading through the letter this time, Currie called her children to ask their opinion about her going to the tournament. They answered with a resounding yes. With that settled, she registered as a participant, and it was decided her husband, Garnet, would go with her as her caddy.
She and her husband flew to Houston on Saturday, June 18. When they got off the airplane, immediately the heat and humidity hit them. She says "you could sweat just standing there." Currie notes that the weather was something they had to adapt to - on and off the golf course.
The whole tournament was very well-organized and planned out. Registration was held at the George R. Brown Convention Center, which also was the venue for many games including basketball, volleyball and tennis. When she registered she was given an identification tag that she had to wear at all times. Registration included the green fees for four rounds (one practice and three tournament) and the golf cart. She brought her own clubs and advises golfers to use their own clubs because they get to know each one and how they hit. Also on the day she registered, Currie and her husband saw the medals to be awarded to winners. As soon as she saw them, Currie said she "would love to win one of those medals."
The practice day on Monday went smoothly for her. On Tuesday morning the tournament began. Each day the tournament started at 7 a.m., but they had to be there at 6 a.m., which meant she and her husband were getting up around 4:30 every morning. For six hours each day they would be on the course. The golfers got to ride in the carts while the caddies walked around in the heat. Currie notes that there were two places on the course set up to serve fruit and water - and a lot of water was needed to stay hydrated. At each hole there were two groups of three golfers, and Currie said the number of golfers made for long rounds. Each day the groups of golfers were switched up, but by random chance, Currie was lucky enough to golf in a group with her top competitor twice. She also says the days started off with shotgun starts, and the groups got to start at a different hole each day.
On the first 18 holes Currie's score was 82, which placed her in a tie for first place with Carolyn Mindel. On Wednesday they were rained out. Currie recalls the joy of all the people from Texas, as it had been 123 days since Houston last had rain. The tournament might have continued that same day because around there it usually clears up quickly, but at noon officials called it off. Over two inches of rain came down, pushing the tournament back one day. On Thursday Currie says she "blew up" on a few holes, which led to her scoring 88. This gave her a total of 170 points heading into the third day, and leaving her five strokes behind Mindel.
Going in to play on Friday, Currie had no idea that she would be taking home the gold. In fact, she did not even think it possible, so she made her goal for the day to not "blow up on any holes." On the last hole, Currie said she knew it was close but did not know how close. She laughed as she said that if she knew the placing depended on her last putt she might not have made it. The tournament came "right down to the wire," and Currie says if she had lost, it would have been fine with her, as Mindel was a "really nice golfer."
After the results had been tabulated, it turned out Currie and Mindel tied for first. One of the people from the Games told them they had to do a play-off hole. This sent the two golfers into a slight panic, as they had flights to catch that night. However, before they did the play-off, they found out that the games had planned for such an occurrence, saying the lowest score on the back nine would determine the winner. Before the official results were calculated and revealed to everyone, Mindel came over to Currie to hug and congratulate her for winning. Currie was surprised at her comments, she exclaimed "I did?!" Mindel showed Currie her score sheet, and Currie was overwhelmed with happiness.
The top eight golfers were recognized for their success. There was a podium for the winners to stand on. As it was the first time Canadians were invited, while walking by the girl playing music, Currie jokingly asked if she had O Canada on her computer. The girl looked horrified and Currie assured her she was only kidding. The top three were awarded beautifully designed medals, with a different design on each side.
Those who placed 4-8 received ribbons. When people asked her what she won, Currie replied with "bragging rights and a medal!"
The golf course she played on was very similar to the one in Kenosee. Currie says there was more water, more sand, more hazards, but says she "kind of felt at home." She liked many things about it. The trees, the rolling hills and the fast green were among the praises she gave it. One of the differences is that BlackHorse is about 75 yards shorter than Kenosee's golf course. The weather in Houston was much different too. Humidity in the air made a one or two club difference. Thinking back, Currie says that it was the unexpected humidity factor that affected her on the second day. For the third day, her husband convinced her to use the harder clubs and she is thankful that he did.
Though much of her time was spent at the golf course, Currie did get time to do some other things. She caught parts of the games for other sports like basketball and volleyball. As well, one of the boys she used to babysit lives in Texas now and was in the same area, so Currie and her husband got together with him and his family for supper. It so happened that the restaurant at the golf course they went to eat was where "Tin Cup" was filmed.
Currie says the experience was one that cannot be replaced. On the golf course she talked to a lot of people and made some friends. At the end of the tournament they exchanged emails and said to her "we'll see you in two years!" Currie would be happy to see them again, but kept it real and told them "I have to get there first!" The next Summer Senior Games will be held in Cleveland, Ohio.
The people she met were inspiring. The oldest man there was 102 and the oldest female was 98. Currie says the Games prove "how true it is" that eating properly and keeping fit really does make people live a longer, healthier, even happier life. She thinks it was the idea of promoting fitness and health for seniors that started the Games up in the first place. The ribbon holding her medal says "Long live the challenge," and the seniors at the game really prove that challenging themselves athletically is a healthy thing to do.
All of the golfers there were very supportive of each other. Currie says they were all "first class" and she commends their sportsmanship. She really appreciates that no one played mind games or tried to bring anyone down. That sort of camaraderie helped to make it a truly enjoyable experience for her.
If the opportunity to participate again in something like this, Currie would definitely like to go, and indeed another chance to go golfing may be coming up soon. Her placing at the Senior Games allows her the opportunity to compete in an international tournament. Though she has not yet done any research into it, Currie is interested in going if she can. Her husband joked that she would have to go back to work if she wanted to keep on travelling for golf, as travel and accommodations are up to the individual to look after, but Currie says each tournament is worth it.
Her husband Garnet was very calming for her during the tournament, and she really appreciates that he was there. Currie would like to send a big thank you out to everyone who supported her along the way. She says it was nice to know there were so many people rooting for her.
To say the least, if Currie goes on to the international competition, she will have just as many, or even more, people cheering her on.
